Finding the Roots of a Rare Lung Disease
Suggested lead: Scientists are on the trail of the gene that causes a devastating lung disease. Tom Britt has more.
Researchers are looking into a rare form of pulmonary fibrosis, hoping to gain broader insight into the more common forms of the disease. The study team includes scientists from Duke University Medical Center,the National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, and VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center in Nashville. Duke pulmonologist Dr. David Schwartz is leading the study, which is being funded by the National Institutes of Health.
"If we discover the genes that cause this disease, we may be able to understand how the disease occurs and why the disease affects some individuals."
Dr. Schwartz says this is the only ongoing program in the United States systematically studying the genetic basis of pulmonary fibrosis, and it could be some time before much progress is obvious:
"At least a year or two, but we're hopeful that we might be able to come up with some answers sooner."
Pulmonary fibrosis affects more than 100,000 people each year in the U.S. alone. At this time the only effective treatment is a lung transplant. I'm Tom Britt.
Schwartz says researchers are hoping to better understand the causes and possible treatments for the disease.
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"Once we get a better handle on the complex cascade of events that leads to fibrosis, we should be able to devise appropriate interventions or determine when the actual disease process begins and in fact be able to stop it."
contact sources : Dr. David Schwartz , (919) 668-0380 david.schwartz@duke.edu